“Last night FEMA announced that much needed relief is on its way for Bastrop County,” said Cornyn, R-San Antonio. “There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but aid is on the way for some of those Texans who need it most right now.”

Obama’s declaration provides relief to displaced residents of Bastrop County, where more than a thousand homes and businesses have been destroyed.

Cornyn and fellow Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Dallas, sent a letter Thursday to President Obama urging him to approve Gov. Rick Perry’s request for an amended Federal Disaster Declaration. The president first declared a fire disaster in Texas on July 1, several months after Perry first requested that Obama declare Texas a “major disaster area.”

Here’s the formal declaration from the White House:

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Texas and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by wildfires beginning on August 30, 2011, and continuing.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Bastrop County.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Kevin L. Hannes as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

FEMA said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed.

FEMA said that residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.